Playing in front of a crowd that numbered in the thousands, the men’s lacrosse team fell to No. 3 Syracuse by a 13-4 margin at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic. The lopsided game closed out the first ever event at the New Meadowlands Stadium and left a shaken Princeton team (7-2 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) searching for answers as it looked toward the tail-end of its regular season.
The Tigers, who for most of their first eight games played solid lacrosse, never seemed to find their rhythm against Syracuse (8-1). After losing the opening faceoff, Princeton quickly took back possession and tore down the field, hoping to score an early goal. But a shot by junior midfielder Tyler Moni drifted wide, setting the tone for what would soon become a struggling offense.
Time and again, the Tigers’ front line ventured deep into Syracuse territory and failed to create holes in the Orange’s tightly structured defense. Pressured by Syracuse’s high-powered, man-to-man defense, Princeton found itself taking low-percentage shots that Syracuse goalie John Galloway had little trouble stopping.
“I give Syracuse a lot of credit,” head coach Chris Bates said. “They played well and got us out of the things we do. We never got in any kind of a rhythm anywhere. We got no kind of rhythm offensively. You’re not going to beat Syracuse that way.”
After ending the first quarter with a 2-0 deficit, the Tigers seemed to find some life when senior attackman Scott Mackenzie whipped a fast side-arm shot past Galloway exactly 30 seconds into the second session. Though Syracuse responded with a goal of its own, Princeton still appeared to have things under control when freshman midfielder Mike Chanenchuk scored his 15th goal of the season to again bring the Tigers within one.
Within minutes, however, everything fell apart.
Cody Jamieson, Syracuse’s stalwart attackman, scored the first of his four goals during the game with 9 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter. He quickly made it clear that he was not a player to be ignored, feeding Syracuse attackman Tim Desko less than 20 seconds later to put the Orange up 5-2. Midfielder Jeremy Thompson added a goal of his own to stretch Syracuse’s lead to four.
The real highlight of the game, and probably of the tournament as well, came a little more than three minutes after Thompson’s goal, when Desko — with his back to the cage — took a shot from between his legs that slipped past sophomore goalie Tyler Fiorito and sent the Tigers into the locker room trailing 7-2.
“Defensively, I don’t know if it was the venue or if we weren’t up to the occasion, but we weren’t as sharp as we’ve been,” sophomore defenseman Chad Wiedmaier said. “If you give Syracuse a chance like that, they’re going to jump on it, and they did.”
Princeton faded in the third quarter as Syracuse, led by three goals from Jamieson and two from attackman JoJo Marasco, went on an unanswered 5-0 run that made the score 12-2 in Syracuse’s favor. Jamieson’s hot streak was apparently so intense that by the time of the post-game press conference, he was unable to recall which end of the field he was attacking when it occurred.
Though goals by Chanenchuk and freshman attackman Forest Sonnenfeldt cut the Orange’s lead by two in the fourth quarter, it would not be enough to prevent one of Princeton’s biggest losses in almost five years. The last time the team lost a game by such a wide margin was in 2005, when the Tigers fell to Cornell 17-4.
“It’s frustrating,” Bates said. “It’s a bit of a powerless feeling. That’s what Syracuse historically does. When they have the ball, they’re dangerous. You can’t expect us to play as much defense as we did today and then come away with a win. Our extra-man was not good. Our ground balls were not good. You need to cash in those opportunities, and we didn’t. If you play man-down defense against a good team, you’re just trying to survive.”
Though Syracuse’s strong offense certainly made Princeton’s task a daunting one, the struggles of the Tigers’ own attackmen compounded their problems. Princeton’s offense is normally fluid, smooth and unhurried, giving the Tigers the confidence that they can compete with high-scoring teams. Against Syracuse, though, that reassurance was all but nonexistent, as Princeton’s front line was simply unable to produce goals at the same rate as it had in previous games.
“We came out flat, and we didn’t communicate,” Mackenzie said. “So much of our offense is communication. It’s a big venue and a lot of fans, and we came out flat. John [Galloway] played great, but I also think we didn’t take good shots. He’s a good goalie, so he’s going to be able to deal with the kinds of looks we were giving him.”
Bates summed up the story of the game.
“We asked our goalie and our defense to do too much today,” he said. “Against a team like Syracuse, you’re not going to win like that.”
Read More
Preview: Football names captains and looks ahead to their first game
Lily PampolinaPrinceton football kicks off their season Saturday at noon at home against University of San Diego. The team hopes to get back on track after a disappointing season last year.
Princeton football kicks off their season Saturday at noon at home against University of San Diego. The team hopes to get back on track after a disappointing season last year.
By the Numbers: Goals and medals for the Tigers’ start to the fall
Harrison BlankThis week in By the Numbers, women’s cross country took first in their first two meets, led by sophomore Meg Madison. Amid these accomplishments, the Tigers won over three-fifths of their games and had winning records both at home and on the road.
This week in By the Numbers, women’s cross country took first in their first two meets, led by sophomore Meg Madison. Amid these accomplishments, the Tigers won over three-fifths of their games and had winning records both at home and on the road.
Late goals lift men’s soccer past University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2–0
Harrison Blank and Matthew YiMen’s soccer overcame a slow start to beat the Minutemen.
Men’s soccer overcame a slow start to beat the Minutemen.